Delhi Resident Doctors Protest: FORDA To Continue Strike; Hindu Rao, Kasturba hospitals Join Agitation

NEET-PG 2021 counselling: Despite the Union Health Minister expressing regret for any misbehaviour on part of the police and urging resident doctors to rejoin work amid rising Covid cases, doctors from Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals have decided to lend their support to the protesting resident doctors and withdraw their services with immediate effect. The resident doctors’ association has written a letter to the Hindu Rao Hospital medical superintendent, stating that resident doctors and interns have decided to withdraw all services, including emergency, to register their protest against violence allegedly meted out to resident doctors who were marching peacefully to the Supreme Court.Also Read – ‘United in Fight For Justice’: Resident Doctors’ Association Says Strike To Continue

“We resident doctors are under great stress due to the delay,” Tanuraj Tyagi, the president of the resident doctors’ association of Hindu Rao was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Kasturba hospital resident doctors’ association president Sunil Kumar, had too written a similar letter stating withdrawal from all services, including emergency. Also Read – Why Are Doctors Protesting For Last 11 Days And What Are Their Demands | Explained

Yesterday, several small hospitals landed their support to the protesting resident doctors after they were allegedly manhandled by the police on Monday while being detained during their march to the Supreme Court. Resident doctors from across medical college-associated hospitals in the city as well as from other states reached Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday morning, amid heavy police deployment. All the gates of the hospital were also barricaded. Also Read – Resident Doctors’ Body FAIMA Announces Complete Withdrawal Of Healthcare Services Across Country From Dec 29

Protests can reach other municipal hospitals

According to the report published, Senior doctors in North MCD said if the issue (delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling) is not resolved, protests can reach other municipal hospitals too. The North MCD presides over hospitals such as Hindu Rao, Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis, in addition to 21 dispensaries, 63 maternity and child welfare centres, 17 polyclinics and seven maternity homes. They employ at least 500 resident doctors.

FORDA to continue strike

Resident doctors in Delhi, who have been protesting over the delay in NEET PG 2021 counselling for the past 12 days, on Tuesday decided to continue the stir, as a meeting between their federation’s delegation and the Union health minister failed to make any headway.

The meeting between a delegation of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took place at Nirman Bhawan in Delhi, but the doctors’ body said, the “response was not satisfactory”.

We are continuing the agitation till our demands are met: President FORDA, @manish_vmmc

— FORDA INDIA (@FordaIndia) December 28, 2021

Doctors-Police tiff in Delhi

It is pertinent to mention here that a large number of resident doctors are protesting in Delhi over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling. During a protest on Monday, there was a clash between the police and the doctors on the road at ITO. Visuals from ITO show both male and female doctors manhandled by the police force.

Doctors raised slogans like ‘We want justice’, and sought to bolster the morale of each other, after the face-off with the police on Monday went all the way to midnight, as dramatic scenes were witnessed at the Sarojini Nagar police station.

Thereafter, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) released a statement in which it expressed shock at the ‘sheer display of unprovoked brute force’ by Delhi police on their colleagues who have been protesting in Delhi and many other states since the last month, with their demand for the immediate declaration of NEET PG 2021 counselling schedule.

“However the lathi-charge on our resident doctors and manhandling of many female residents by the male police personnel during their peaceful demonstration is a pathetic display of the shameless attitude of the authorities, who we could believe would stoop so low,” it said in a statement, calling for a complete withdrawal from all healthcare services across the country from 8 am on December 29.

#PressRelease: the Agitation continues till our demands are met. We all stand united in this fight for Justice! #ExpediteNEETPGCounselling2021 @PMOIndia @mansukhmandviya @Drvirendrakum13 @MoHFW_INDIA @MSJEGOI @barcouncilindia @ANI @MirrorNow @LiveLawIndia @ndtv @TNNavbharat pic.twitter.com/Du1Jiia1fd

— FORDA INDIA (@FordaIndia) December 28, 2021

However, police on Monday had denied any allegations of lathicharge or use of abusive language from their end, and said, 12 protestors were detained and released later. An FIR had been registered under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code for Covid violations, rioting and damage to public property among others, police had said on late Monday night.